China has called for calm amid a growing diplomatic row with the US over suspected spy balloons. It comes after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, indefinitely postponed a planned visit to Beijing after a huge balloon was spotted in US airspace. On Friday, a day after the first high-altitude balloon was identified over Montana, the Pentagon reported a second suspected spy balloon flying over Latin America. Amid growing tensions between the two countries – and Republican party claims that the Biden administration is not doing enough to deter…
Tag: Antony Blinken
Second spy balloon spotted over Latin America, says Pentagon, as Blinken postpones China trip
A second Chinese spy balloon was reportedly flying over Latin America, according to the Pentagon, in comments that came as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, postponed a visit to China after the intrusion of a separate high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace. “We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America,” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said, a day after the first craft was spotted over US skies. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.” The Pentagon did not specify the balloon’s exact location, but a…
Blinken postpones planned China visit after high-altitude balloon intrusion into US airspace – video
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has postponed a planned visit to China this weekend after the intrusion of a high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace. China had apologised for the incident, claiming it had been a weather balloon which had been blown off course, but US officials made clear they did not believe that explanation and the Pentagon restated its assessment it was a surveillance aircraft, adding that by midday Friday it had changed course and was over the centre of the country. Blinken’s trip, due to begin on Friday…
US opens embassy in Solomon Islands after 30-year absence to counter China
The United States has opened an embassy in Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced the news late on Wednesday, saying that “more than any other part of the world, the Indo-Pacific region – including the Pacific Islands – will shape the world’s trajectory in the 21st century”. The top US diplomat announced plans to open a diplomatic mission in the Pacific island nation during a visit to…
Nato concerned by China’s ‘rapid and opaque’ military buildup, says Blinken
Nato allies are concerned about China’s rapid and opaque military buildup and its cooperation with Russia, and discussed concrete ways to address the challenges posed by Beijing, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said. “The members of our alliance remain concerned by the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] coercive policies, by its use of disinformation, by its rapid, opaque military buildup, including its cooperation with Russia,” Blinken told a news conference on Wednesday after a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the defence alliance. “But we also remain committed…
China says US sending ‘dangerous signals’ on Taiwan
China has accused the United States of sending “very wrong, dangerous signals” on Taiwan after the US secretary of state told his Chinese counterpart on Friday that the maintenance of peace and stability over Taiwan was vitally important. Taiwan was the focus of the 90-minute, “direct and honest” talks between the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, on the margins of the UN general assembly in New York, a US official told reporters. “For our part, the secretary made crystal clear that – in…
Blinken voices concern to China over stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine
China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is complicating US-Chinese relations at a time when they are already beset by rifts and enmity over numerous other issues, the US secretary of state has told his Chinese counterpart In five hours of talks in their first face-to-face meeting since October, Antony Blinken said he expressed deep concern to the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, about Beijing’s stance on Russia’s actions in Ukraine and did not believe Beijing’s protestations that it was neutral in the conflict. The talks had been arranged in…
Xi Jinping hails China’s rule over Hong Kong on 25th anniversary of handover
Xi Jinping has hailed China’s rule over Hong Kong as he led 25th anniversary celebrations of the city’s handover from Britain, insisting democracy was flourishing despite a political crackdown that has silenced dissent. After swearing in a new hardline chief executive, John Lee, in a solemn ceremony on Friday morning, the Chinese president laid out his vision for the city and its administrators. On his first trip outside mainland China since the pandemic began, he vowed that “one country, two systems” – a governance model under which Hong Kong was…
US sanctions Chinese drugmakers amid addiction epidemic
The US has imposed sanctions on Chinese painkiller makers – including one man described as the biggest producer of anabolic steroids in the world – as it vowed to step up action to curb the addiction epidemic that killed a record 100,000 Americans last year. With people who are dealing with addiction increasingly turning to cheaper pills bought online from abroad, Joe Biden signed an executive order that makes it easier for the US to target foreign drug traffickers. The actions “will help disrupt the global supply chain and the…
Blinken clashes with China over US support for Taiwan
The US secretary of state has clashed with his Chinese opposite number, saying the US will provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself as China warned it must end its interference on the island. Antony Blinken also urged China to live up to its responsibilities on the climate emergency, pointing out it was the largest carbon emitter. The hour-long meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome was described by US officials as “exceptionally candid” but productive, and would help lay the groundwork for a virtual summit…